IMAGINE! 100 Years of International Surrealism

IMAGINE! focuses on the connections and similarities, but also the fracture lines between surrealism and symbolism, one of its precursors. From 1880 onwards, Brussels was an exceptional hub for the arts and the avant-garde, as demonstrated by the exhibitions of groups such as “Les XX” and “La Libre Esthétique”. Symbolism, embodied in particular by Rops, Spilliaert, Khnopff, Delville and Minne, evolved rapidly in Brussels and largely anticipated the emergence of the surrealist movement. A few decades later, Brussels became a centre for Belgian surrealism. Despite the cultural rupture caused by World War I, the older symbolists and the emerging youth were never fundamentally alienated from each other.